If you’ve always suspected that high-end audiovisual equipment is sort of a ripoff, the folks at Audioholics have confirmed some of your suspicions. In their review of the $3500, THX-certified Lexicon BD-30, the site just came out and said it: the player is another manufacturer’s very nice $500 Blu-Ray player slapped inside a new case and sold with a $3000 markup. [More]

Last week Nintendo released the Wii Motion Plus, a box you stick on to the bottom of a Wii remote to make the cute little video game system’s motion controls spaz out less and start obeying to your precise motion commands. Motion Plus only works with new games specifically made for the add-on, including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis.

Walgreens charges a hefty $7.99 for passport photos. Is it because they’re super fancy, or technically challenging to create, or the paper is strawberry scented? The answer to all of these questions is no. It’s because it’s an easy way to make a quick buck. That’s why they hate it when you find a cheaper online solution and try to print out your own 4×6 layout of passport photos via their stores.

We received an email from Guitar Center’s Chief Marketing Officer this afternoon letting us know that the $100 markup on their iPods was a pricing mistake, and that they’re automatically refunding the difference to anyone who bought at the wrong price as well as giving them $10 gift cards.

Here’s a perfect example of what a ripoff rent-to-own or “lease-purchase” (to use the Kelly’s phrase) arrangements are to the consumer. This $250 Wii console can be yours for only $79 a month, and after 12 months, it’s yours to keep. By that time, you will have paid $948 for it. By comparison, if you charged it to a credit card with 18% interest, you could pay $23 a month and have it paid off after 12 months. Kelly’s offer will cost you $673 more than paying with the credit card.